Frankie Allen enters his sixth season as the head coach of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore men's basketball team. Allen was named coach of the team in June of 2008 and has amassed a record of 25-29 at home during that time. UMES is the third Division I institution that Allen has coached. He was recently inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and was named to Roanoke College's All-Century team in 2013.

In his five years at UMES, he has coached three players that have gone on to play professional basketball in Hillary Haley '12, Tyler Hines '12 and Freddy Obame Obame '11. Allen has seen four players recieved All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference honors during his tenure. He has also helped 18 players secure MEAC Commissioners All-Academic Team accolades.

Prior to joining UMES, Allen spent two seasons at the University of Maryland Baltimore County as an assistant coach, where the team combined to go 36-28. In 2007-08, he helped lead the Retrievers to an NCAA Tournament berth. The Roanoke, Va., native served as assistant men's basketball coach at Radford University, where the Highlanders posted a record of 16-13 in 2005-06.

Allen was the head coach at Howard University for five years from 2000-05. Heinherited a program that had struggled the previous two season as Howard went just 3-52 during that span. Under his tutelage, the program was ressurected and the Bison recorded double-digit victories in his first three seasons. He led the team to the school's first winning record (18-13, 2001-02) in 16 years.

He came to Howard from Tennessee State University, where he coached the Tigers for nine seasons (1991-2000). His Tennessee State teams won three Ohio Valley Conference titles (1993, '94, '95) and made a pair of appearances (1993, '94) in the NCAA Tournament. His first head coaching position was at Virginia Tech from 1987-91, where he earned Coach of the Year honors from the Metro Conference and Virginia Sportswriters in 1988.

Allen had a brilliant playing career for Roanoke (Va.) College from 1967-71. He remains the all-time leading scorer (2,780 points) and rebounder (1,758) at any collegiate level in the state of Virginia. He was a three-time Virginia College Basketball Player of the Year (1969-71) and earned All-American honors in his senior season. Moreover, Allen was the first African-American resident student to earn a degree (B.A., Philosophy) from Roanoke College.

Allen is married to Cynthia Rogers and has three daughters, Talhia and Ashley Allen of Nashville, Tenn., and Alexis Pate of Washington, D.C.